Butterfly Flutter By

Over the weekend we went to a butterfly festival. Pretty cool for the kiddos to see them up close. Apparently butterflies like watermelon. The place provided watermelon and the butterflies would fly on to them. For lunch on Monday I thought I'd remind him of what we did on the weekend. I made a sunbutter and jam sandwich in the shape of a butterfly and used a icing writer (used on cookies) to decorate it. I added an extra heart sandwich just in case he was extra hungry. I never know if he really eats all of it. Some times at home he can eat 2 full sandwiches. Grapes and Pirates Booty.

Little Man has been into his Cowboy hat that he made at summer camp and a little toy snake as of last night. So this morning I made his lunch with that in mind. Lunch today consisted of turkey on mini pirate swords, a cowboy hat cut from a slice of cheese. I decorated it with the icing writer to match his cowboy hat with a star and his name. Edamame, goldfish and grapes. Oh and 1 chocolate chip for dessert. I know, just 1 chocolate chip? He's lucky to have that as a treat because this mama tries to stay away from sugar as much as I can! And if you're wondering what he drinks for lunch, he usually gets the Horizon Vanilla milk or regular milk. Apple juice just once in awhile but we try to save juice for an after school treat.

I'm starting to collect ideas for Halloween lunches which will be so much fun! And also fall. It's still pretty hot here so it's hard to think of autumn themes just yet. I hope all you mamas are having fun with your bentos!

Sub Sandwich and Sea Creatures!

I was running out of ideas for creative ways to make Little Man's lunch so I had to take a refresher by reviewing other fellow bento creators.  This gal is SUPER talented and I get a lot of my ideas from her including today's lunch:  Cute Food for Kids

I made a sunbutter and jam submarine sandwich out of a football cookie cutter.  Windows can be made by puching out the bread with a straw or in my case, I had some very small circle and oval cutters.  The periscope and rotors are made out of a bendy straw.  I cut wavy nori for seaweed in the background.  It would have been super cute and super easy to use gold fish crackers to add to the sea but we are all out!  Had some cheddar bunnies but I guess that wouldn't have made any sense.  My next option was to make the hotdog octopus and crab, which happens to be one of my favorites to make.  Yeah!  Fruit option is a mix of nectarines, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.  For dessert, Toy Story gummies!

The container I used today is the EasyLunchBoxes which fits perfectly in his new school lunch bag.  I find this container a bit big for my preschooler's portion size.  Especially the main section which holds a full size sandwich.  This is where the silicone cupcake liners would come in handy.



Nothing too creative today for lunch.  I can't create spectcular lunches for him every day, right?  He might come to expect it  =)  Let's talk about some essentials you need to create these "bento" lunches for your kiddos.

1. I would say the #1 item would be 3-4 sectioned food containers.  It doesn't have to be actual "bento" containers, just cool looking food containers to make your food look more interesting.  I LOVE food containers and get them whenever I see one I like.  I don't own any actual "bento" boxes.
2. The next would be an insulated lunch bag that lays your container FLAT so your creation isn't ruined by lunchtime.  Check out EasyLunchBoxes.com
3. Cookie cutters.  I got a huge box of plastic cookies cutters at Michaels for about $10.  They usually have the 40% off coupons too!  These are great for cutting different shape sandwiches, cheese, pancakes, waffles, etc.
4. Food picks.  I would say get a good variety of these.  Again, they don't have to be the ones made specifically for "bentos".  I find them in the party section of stores where one would use for appetizers at parties.
5. Silicone cupcake liners in different colors and perhaps different sizes.  These are great for separating food.

Once you have the basic items, it's easy to build on to what you have.  I hear a lot from people how time consuming it is to create bento type lunches.  I say boooo!  If you're already making a lunch for your kiddo, this won't add but a few extra minutes to the time you're already spending making their regular lunch.  It's all in how your arrange the food and not necessarily the creativeness of the kind of food.  So, have fun and experiment!  I would LOVE to hear about your ideas and what you've created so do share.

For lunch today I made him a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with Laughing Cow cheese.  I tried to get creative and use a tiny frog punch and punched out some nori to create the 'A'.  You can use your regular paper punches to punch out edible nori (make a happy face or different animals).  Greek yogurt with sprinkles.  The color of the sprinkles will desolve and get into the yogurt which he thinks looks like a "rainbow".  Nectarine and strawberry mix.  And for dessert, 2 chocolate coins. 

The contain I used is the Sassy food container in the baby section of retailers.  Works perfect for preschooler portions!  I love it because it has 3 removable containers within the big container so you can mix and match.  They all come with separate lids too!  And what the Little Man loves best is the spoon attached to the main lid.



 

What's for Dinner is Now What's for Lunch!

Little Man's first day of school was fantastic! There was no hesitation. There was no crying. No crying! What does this all mean?! He is growing up so fast and is so brave. Mama did good too. As we said our good byes, he headed off with his new teacher to find a project to work on and I spied through the one way window for a few minutes=).

Love the fact that this school will put all the kids lunches in the refrigerator so I don't need to put a cold pack in this lunch bag. Before school started I was a bit bummed when I found out we had to buy a school lunch bag. It's color coded based on their class level. I was for sure thinking the lunch bags were the ones that require you to put the containers in vertically, essentially spilling all the food around in it. I was happy to find out the lunch boxes are just like the EasyLunchBoxes.com.

Another thing I love about the school is the carpool line for drop-off and pick-up. I just pull up and they put him in his car seat and we're off! I don't have to wake up baby and pull him out of the car only to put him back in it 2 minutes later. I hope you mamas with 2+ kiddos have this option!

Ok so back to the subject at hand. Little Man had chicken quesadilla for dinner but only ate 1/2 so, guess what's for lunch? Quesadillas! Our local grocery store makes these tortillas in-store. LOVE fresh tortillas! Especially the butter flavored ones. The chicken I used was the roasted chicken they usually have in the deli. Yum!

More veggies on skewers since he seemed to like them from the previous lunch. Loading him up on grapes and a couple of raspberries. He came home super thirsty. For desert, 3 mini Oreos and a vanilla filled cracker. The container I'm using today is the LunchBots  system.

First Day of School - Fall 2011

Wow.  It has been quite some time since I last posted anything.  So many changes since the last time I blogged.  We made a huge move BACK to north Dallas in early March.  I guess California just wasn't for us right now.  And I had sweet baby Jace.  Poor guy wasn't even a month old during the move but everyone is now settled and we're back on our routine.

It feels like the middle of summer and I can't believe school has already started!  I guess technically it IS the middle of summer.  I can't get used to school starting in mid August here.  Back when I was in school, it didn't start until AFTER Labor Day.  And after Labor Day was when it felt like fall back in the Pacific Northwest.  We still have triple digit heat right now...

Little Man did so well for his first day and I'm delighted!  It helped that he was in summer camp this summer and he loved it.  There was no crying and not even a hint of nervousness during the drop-off.  I can't believe how much he's grown this past year.  I guess all the changes pushed him along.  Mama did well too this morning.  I started to get a little teary eyed when I saw him in his uniform but quickly started thinking happy thoughts.  I also helped that he was excited about school and was in a good mood.

For lunch today we have turkey rolls on mini pirate swords, Ritz crackers with Laughing Cow cheese, seedless cucumbers and mini grape tomatoes on skewers, berry medley and vanilla milk.  For desert we have gummy Toy Story characters which he was very excited about and was the first thing he told his new teacher this morning.

I bought some new lunch containers which should be arriving anytime this week.  I'm excited to try them out!  By the way, I LOVE the silicone baking cups to separate different foods.  They easily mold to the shape you need.  I think I will pick up some more in different colors.

OK mamas, are you ready for school lunches this year?!  Would love to hear and see your ideas!



Week 4 Day 2 - Pasta Salad

Baby #2 arrived on Sunday at 3:10 AM and we got home from the hospital Monday evening.  Spent all Saturday, Sunday and most of Monday in the hospital and probably had a total of 5 hours of sleep.  The hospital we delivered at had 4 labor and delivery rooms.  It was just our luck that all 4 rooms were taken when we were ready.  We had to wait for over 2 hours to get a room which was fine since it gave me a chance to get some sleep.  Still, I was exhausted!  Glad that experience is over with.

On Tuesday, I did end up packing him a lunch for school but I was way too exhausted to snap a photo of it.  I made a pocket sandwich with sunbutter and jam (love this combo when I'm in a pinch) and some fruit and apple sauce.  I do want to share with you this pocket sandwich maker I found called Krust Buster.  I accidentally found it while looking for a Japanese pocket sandwich maker and a toast stamper.  It's pretty much a combination of both tools.  Love the Krust Buster!  You can make sandwiches ahead of time and freeze it (I haven't tried yet).

Anyhow, for lunch today we have pasta salad.  It's actually 'Suddenly Pasta Salad' that I've added baby plum tomatoes, cucumbers, sliced olives, mini pepperoni and feta cheese to.  There's a baby plum tomato on a mini veggie pick for him to use to eat the pasta.  Although I doubt this will happen.  We have 3 Ritz crackers with cheddar cheese animal cut outs and yogurt covered raisins.  For fruit I have sliced oranges and blueberries on food picks.  I threw in a few pretzels too.  I doubt he will eat all this but at least there is a variety and hopefully he will eat some of everything.  These Easy Lunch containers are a bit big for preschooler portions in my opinion so perhaps I shall look for other container options.

I had a little time before my next feeding with baby #2 so was able to do this blog.  Hopefully I will be able to keep up.  Husband is able to help out this week and is mainly in charge of older brother so we'll see how it goes when we get in a regular routine on our own.  I'm exhausted so good night!

Happy New Year! The Year of the Rabbit

Happy New Year!  Today is Lunar New Year and it happens to be the year of the Rabbit.  I just learned this morning that in Chinese it's the year of the Rabbit while in Vietnamese it's the year of the Cat.  Go figure. 

This lunch was way too cute to not make for Little Man today even though he doesn't have preschool and his nanny was here.  They had a nice time at the park so I thought I'd whip up a cute little lunch for him when they got back.

As you can see, the Rabbit is today's theme!  I made quesadilla with cheddar cheese and a whole wheat tortilla.  After it cooled down I cut it with a rabbit shape cutter.  Then I added cheese eyes and mouth.  I made smaller sized rabbits as well as cheddar cheese rabbits.  He had fun picking the eyes and mouths off the rabbits and asked why they were winking at him.  I also wanted to add some protein so I cut up some turkey slices and speared them on little rabbit food picks.  For fruit we have a clementine and blueberries on rabbit food picks.  For dessert, it's a bite size oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from Trader Joe's which is fantastic!  I can probably eat the whole container.  Surprisingly, he ate his entire lunch today!!!  Mission accomplished!



Week 3 Day 2 - Vroom Vroom!

I wasn't kidding when I said I was tired yesterday.  I completely forgot about packing Little Man's lunch until I was on my way upstairs to bed!  I had to quickly come up with something which isn't so creative or pretty but is better than the little boy in his class who had his lunch in a left over Styrofoam container.  I over heard his mom saying "Oh I see you didn't have any of your lunch" when she picked him up.

I bought this cute sandwich cutter in the shapes of vehicles at All Things for Sale.  They are much smaller than I thought.  I think they crammed too many vehicles into one cutter.  The sandwich shapes didn't turn out so well but I think it works great on cheese!  It would probably work well on thicker pieces of lunch meat too. 

I made sunbutter and strawberry jam sandwiches and added the cheese on top so he can see the shapes better.  The top right hand corner I have a dried cranberry and sunflower seed mix.  For the fruit we have 2 clementines, which he loves.  Served on a food pick in the shape of a subway train, I think.  And 2 pieces of rice crispy treats in the shapes of a penguin and rabbit (for Lunar New Year today: Year of the Rabbit).

I wish his preschool didn't throw any leftover food away.  I never know how much of his lunch he eats.  I'm so glad there isn't preschool tomorrow.  This mama is all tired out tonight.  Good thing he only has preschool 2 days out of the week.  How am I going to keep up when he starts going 5 days a week?  I still need to try out the rice molds I bought but we haven't had rice for quite some time.  Maybe next week!

Week 3 Day 1 - Turkey & Cream Cheese Rolls

Little Man was very excited about going to preschool this morning.  Then all of a sudden the excitement came to a dead silence in the car.  By the time we got to the school's playground, he was starting to tear up and wanted to hug and love on mommy.  Go figure.  After I got him settled in the classroom and sitting down for a snack, he was a little better.

Believe it or not I can remember my first days of daycare as a young child.  I even remember the 2 teachers names - Lavern and Shirley.  Seriously, those were their names!  And I can remember exactly how they look back then.  I was terrified and everything was so overwhelming.  There were all these news kids, different teachers and rules to follow.  And back then teachers weren't very nice and were allowed to wack you on your behind!  Remembering all these emotions made me a little emotional to think Little Man was having the same reservations and made me a little sad thinking he'll have to do things alone that I usually help him with at home.

Let's talk bento.  For lunch today we have turkey and cream cheese rolls.  I cut these up in 1" pieces and stuck 2 to a food pick.  I thought 6 rolls would be sufficient for his lunch.  I added a side of dried cranberries.  For fruit I chopped up some apples and added blueberries with a little red bus food pick to eat with.  Can't go wrong with veggie straws!  And for desert a piece of rice crispy treat in a shape of a bear.

I used a Yubo lunchbox today.  I love it because it's so easy to clean.  But the big complaint I have about it is that it doesn't have room to hold a drink.  I had to forgo a container space to fit the small box of apple juice which is fine.  However, I don't like to give him apple juice with lunch since it's right before nap time and he gets enough juice with snack time.  They do make a separate drink holder that attaches to the outside of the box now. 

Now what to pack for lunch tomorrow??  Little Man needs a bath, my back is killing me and daddy is out for a business dinner.  What to do, what to do...

Week 2 Day 2 - What's Puzzling You?

We had such a grumpy morning yesterday with Little Man whining and crying for about an hour before daddy left for work.  Then he said he was tired and that his ear hurt so he wanted to take a really early nap.  No fever and the pediatrician's office was booked for the entire day.  Really?!  This is at the hospital I might add.  He didn't get to enjoy his "special" lady bug sandwich lunch at school but was able to have some during lunch and some for dinner.

So for lunch today we have a sunbutter and strawberry jam sandwich.  I found these super cute sandwich cutters in the shape of puzzle pieces on Amazon by Lunch Punch.  It came in a set of 4.  I was hoping it would be a cleaner cut like I saw in the pictures but still cute and you can still make out the puzzle pieces.  I cut out his name with cheddar cheese and added some edamame.  He had mentioned that he wanted some in his lunch =)  In the top right hand corner I have a mix of goldfish crackers, mini pepperoni and cranberries.  In the lower right hand corner we have some grapes and blueberries that he can eat with the airplane food pick I included.

I think we need something different next week.  Roll-ups?  Mac and cheese?  I do have some rice molds in a couple of different shapes I can try out.  Any suggestions?

Week 2 Day 1 - Lady Bug Sandwich

I finally got the lunch containers and insolated lunchbox I ordered so I'm very excited about trying it out.  The one I ordered is from Easy Lunch Boxes which will hold the lunch container flat.  This minimizes the chance of the food being tossed around while in transport.  I also got a lot of my cookie cutters so I'm anxious to start using it.

I found the cutest sandwich idea at Cute Foods for Kids!  It's in a shape of a lady bug.  My attempt doesn't look as perfect as the one I found on the website but I'm still happy with how it turned out.  Mine is missing the little legs but the turkey I have it too thin to use for that.  I think pretzels would look cute but unfortunately the bag I have are the traditional shape and not the pretzel sticks. 

My lady bug is a turkey and cream cheese sandwich.  I used a round cookie cutter for the bread and the cheddar cheese wings (see link on how to cut the wings with the same round cookie cutter).  My lady bug is actually "winking" if you look closely ;-)  I also used Sweet Hawaiian bread which I found at Costco.  Yummy!  I used a straw to punch out the little "dots" on the wings.  Lastly, I used cream cheese to "glue" the wings and eyes to the bread.  On the website where I got this idea, she used candy/icing eyes which are really cool!  I just haven't gotten around to ordering those yet.  I'm hoping to find those at a store here but that's not likely to happen.  I'm not sure why Michael's wouldn't carry it in their baking and cake decorating section.

Then for fruit we have a clementine and blueberries.  In the top right section I have a cracker mix with Cheez-It, dried cranberries and a few chocolate covered raisins.

This sandwich is so fitting since I call him my "little bug" =)  I'm already excited about what I'm going to make tomorrow with one of my new cutters!

Under the Ocean Dinner

OK so maybe I'm getting a bit obsessed with making these meals for my preschooler.  2 in one day!  Little Man isn't feeling well today so I thought I'd make a special dinner for him.  Plus I'm not sure how much longer he'll be getting these "special" meals with baby #2 arriving anyday now. 

We have 2 octopus and 2 mini crabs made out of mini hot dogs.  I sliced the octopus tenacles and crab legs and put it in the toaster oven for a few minutes, enough for a slight curl.  I used a straw to cut rounds from cheddar cheese for the octopus mouth and glued it on with cream cheese.  For the eyes, I didn't have black sesame seeds so I used the regular ones and glued them on with syrup. 

I toasted a waffle and used a fish cookie cutter for the fish shape and used edamame as "bubbles" coming from his mouth.  The little thing next to the "bubbles" was my attempt at a sea enemy.  I used a piece of string cheese and shredded the top and used blue and green Food Writer markers for some color.  The cute little orange container holds syrup for dipping.

Saturday Lunch in the Car

We had to make a Costco run this afternoon so I made a quick bento lunch for the Little Man to eat in the car. Sunbutter and strawberry jam sandwiches in the shapes of a cowboy boot and a foot ball. I made some quick detail designs on the sandwiches with a Food Writer pen. The letter 'A' cut out of cheese and some grapes and blueberries. Got a "wow" out of him as he gobbled up the fruit first =)

Dinner - Chicken in Bread Cups

Since Little Man can be picky during mealtimes, I decided to make something fun tonight for him.  I made little baked bread cups with chopped chicken, mixed with cream cheese.

I flatten 2 pieces of bread and cut them with a round cookie cutter.  Then I chopped up some chicken and mixed cream cheese into it.  Scooped them into the bread cups and put a couple of string cheese slices on top.  I put it in my toaster over for about 10 minutes and topped them with mini plum tomatoes.  For the antennas I strung peas on toothpicks and used the left over peas for the mouth.  And a blueberry for the nose.

The blueberry was eaten first then the peas.  The bread cups required coaxing and he still didn't finish them.  Oh well.  It was fun to make!

Week 1 Day 2 - Fun Shaped Turkey Sandwiches

Little Man did amazingly well for his first day at preschool!  We started the day playing in the playground.  Then I helped him get settled in his classroom.  He sat at the table with the other kids for snack time then I told him I had to leave but I'll be back later.  He got up, gave me a big hug and said "I love you mommy".  Then took one of his teacher's hand and headed to circle time all by himself without crying.  I was amazed and a bit sad to see how much he's grown up.  Not long ago, he would have never let me out of his sight without crying hysterically.

Got a great report by one of his teachers that he did great for his first day and they couldn't have asked for anything more.  He ate his lunch, and they mentioned how impressed they were with his lunch!  Then he even napped!  I guess he was more ready for preschool than I expected him to be.

My bento supplies still have not arrived yet so I'm going with what I have on-hand for day 2.

For day 2 we are having

• Turkey and cream cheese sandwiches.  I spread the cream cheese on the bread, put one slice of turkey (it was a pretty thick Costco slice).  Then I flattened the sandwich out to make it easier to cut with the cookie cutters.  It also makes it easier to eat for Little Man.  I made fun shapes by using mini cookie cutters.  2 stars, 2 chickens, 2 teddy bears and a giraffe. 
• 1 clementine
• Blueberries
• GoGo Squeez apple sauce
• Chocolate milk
• And for something a little sweet, 5 Raisinettes

I also ordered some reusable lunch containers from EasyLunchBoxes.com which look great for bento style lunches.  Hopefully it will come by the end of the week!  But for day 2, I'm using the Klip-It Lunch Cube again.  The food did get all tossed around so the presentation wasn't great once it was opened at lunch time but it will have to do.

It's finally time for the FIRST day of preschool!!!

After moving from Frisco, TX to West Hills, CA it took us over 3 months to finally decide on a preschool for our son.  Sadly to say, the determining factor that pushed us to make a decision was that I'm due with baby #2 any day now and I wanted him to start before the baby came.  Although I still don't think the school compares to what we would have picked in Frisco, we're going to give it a try.

I think I was more excited to put together his first lunch for preschool than he is about starting school.  I decided to go with something I thought would be easy to make and what I already had on-hand in the refrigerator/freezer.

• Octopus from mini weiners - I cut the tenacles and put it in the toaster oven for a few minutes to let it curl up a bit.  I used nori for the band around each octopus and a paper punch to punch out the nori for eyes. Some of the tenacles turned out better than others but I'm sure he won't mind. 
• I sprinkled some edamame around the octopus
• Grapes and cheese on tooth picks
• A clementine
• chocolate milk
• Mini oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and a chocolate coin

I can already tell you the first thing he will eat is the chocolate coin!

 


This is definitely more than what he would normally eat for lunch but since it's his first day at school, I'm not sure how hungry he will be at lunch time.
I'm still trying to figure what containers will work for us so for today I just used a Klip-It Lunch Cube from The Container Store.  They now have really cute colorful ones at The Container Store but the nearest one to us is almost 20 miles away.  Let's not try and translate that into hours on the road from here =)  I also used paper muffin cups to separate the food items.  One thing I don't like with this container is that the "sandwich" part folds over and all the items in it will be shuffled around.
Not bad for my first attempt.  I think it only took me about 30 minutes.  Hopefully the lunches will start looking better and taking less time.  But most importantly, I had fun making this for him and I hope he enjoys it!